Florida State Wraps Up First Scrimmage of Spring

The Florida State Seminoles wrapped up their first scrimmage of the spring on Monday behind closed doors in Doak Campbell Stadium. After making it through the first few practices the players strapped on the pads and went after each other in more of a game-setting as they prepare for the April 13's Spring Game.

More than anything Jimbo Fisher and his coaches used the scrimmage and the film it provides to evaluate position battles and take stock of which players and position groups are coming along and at what rates.

Given the Seminoles' current state of affairs, that means quarterbacks first and foremost.

“Because you aren’t out there with the coach [during a scrimmage] you have to be out there doing it on your own," said Fisher afterwards. "It’s still live in the stadium. I can’t say if there is much more [of a difference with the QB's], but it kind of confirms things I’ve been seeing at practice. I’m not unhappy at all. We’ve made a lot of progress. We made some really great plays. We need to be more consistent. I kind of imagined that right now. But we had some nice plays in the game.”

On the other side of the ball the Seminoles started employing their new defensive scheme, showing multiple looks and blitz packages aimed at confusing the offense.

“There are many more looks to develop your offense and your quarterbacks because of blitzes and other scenarios, and fronts and coverages, which is very good because that allows you to prepare and see them every day and get comfortable with them," added Fisher. "The defense did some really nice things. You move 2’s and 1’s around, trying to experiment with different people. I thought they had a nice day.”

While Fisher didn't say that anyone really stood out at first blush, he did say Lamarcus Joyner flashed a few times in nickel sets.

Joyner, who moved from safety back to corner after the Orange Bowl, will be a jack of all trades for the Seminoles this season and will likely find himself lining up as a nickel corner as well out on the field or boundary when needed as well. More importantly, with so many other corners nicked up and missing time during the Spring he's one of the lone veterans in the secondary. Joyner needs to lead for the Seminoles to be successful, he prefers to lead by example.

Seems like he's on track.

Fisher also mentioned that Austin Barron was day-to-day with a strained back. Meanwhile, high school teammate Bobby Hart continues to fight for a starting tackle position.

“I thought Bobby had a nice day," said Fisher. "I will look at film and see. I know there had to have been some protections he missed. He didn’t jump out at me as doing something glaringly wrong. You notice that with offensive linemen first.”

If Hart can't win the job it's likely Bryan Stork will move to right tackle and Austin Barron will start at center. Depth could be an issue for the Seminoles this upcoming season though- especially at tackle.

Florida State will be back out on the practice fields on Wednesday.

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